During his first visit in Tuscany of last year, he used to have breakfast on the terrace and leave home with all the equipment for open air landscape painting: tripode, chair and colours! He was all over in Tuscany and painted and sketched impressive sceneries of Chianti, Florence, Siena and Colle Val d’Elsa and San Gimignano choosing different time of the day for special light effects. He was able to experiment the whole range of Tuscan famous landscape in summer: hilltowns and buildings, vineyards, sunflower fields and forests with easy daytrips from the B&B. He really experienced how a painting holiday in Tuscany can be overwhelming and…. his beautiful artworks can testify.

This time he brought a super special gift from home: a painting he did last year during his first stay as sketch and he has been working on during springtime. Now it is a beautiful painting of Santo Stefano in Campoli Church near Quattro Strade on the way to San Casciano Val di Pesa. I love the quick yet precise strokes and brown / burgundy shades. It is now in the reception for everybody to admire…and for my everyday delight!

Alex, Louise with Alessandra in front of the studio

We all thank Alexandre for his talent and generosity and find him here with Alessandra in the sun light right in front of the studio while having breakfast on the panoramic terrace.

The picture has an apparent the simple subject: the olive trees, symbol of peace and hard work through generations, weave together with powerful sun rays suggest the idea of a dynamic cosmic harmony.
This delicate yet strong image recalls the peace and the magic of every morning at Ancora del Chianti. The silence of the rising sun over the vineyard, the olive grove and the garden invites to deeply breathe and dive in the energy for the new day to come. We hope you can feel it soon, during your next visit to Ancora del Chianti.

Our Special Thanks to the other partecipants for their impressive contributions. It has been hard to choose!…. I promise to show all the pictures during the next months. Have a look to all the entries on our Flickr Page.
Have Fun!

The inspiring and silent setting and the lovely company helped a lot in order to create colourful and detailed flowers watercolours to hang, to offer or to keep for future improvements. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant with a cup of tea – and a glass of good Chianti wine for the wilder ones.

Hommage to Music - Original Watercolour by Laura of Ancora del Chianti B&B

I have been painting for more than 20 years now but I never referred at me as an artist, rather as a trainee. In the beginning my paintings were jelously hidden in my folder and I never showed them to everybody. Only when the teachers asked me to hang them for collective exhibition, I thought that these paintings deserved a public. I was trapped in the illusion that the attractiveness of a painting was depending on the perfection of the technique. All this was very frustrating especially in the beginning. But something told me to keep on going….Dipingo più di 20 anni e non mi sono mai considerata un’artista, piuttosto un’ apprendista. All’inizio conservavo gelosamente i miei dipinti nella cartellina e non li mostravo a nessuno. Solo quando l’insegnante mi chiedeva di partecipare a delle mostre pensavo che meritassero considerazione. Ero intrappolata nell’illusione che la piacevolezza di un dipinto dipendesse dalla sua perfezione tecnica. Ciò era molto frustrante soprattutto all’inizio. Ma qualcosa mi diceva di continuare…..

It was strange: the very same painting mute while in the folder started to be alive, telling me a big secret: the beauty of a painting is not only in the perfection of the technique but mostly in the emotion it can arouse.Era strano: i quadri che poco prima giacevano muti nella cartellina, avevano preso vita e mi svelavano un importante segreto: la bellezza del dipinto non sta solo nella perfezione tecnica ma soprattutto nell’emozione che suscita.